You Can Let Go Now
by Yoko Black
Summary: Lily goes through life with her hero, her father Harry. Song You Can Let Go Now, Daddy. Do not own!


**Title: You Can Let Go Now **

**Rating: K**

**Genre: Family/General **

**Summary: Lily goes through life with her hero, her father Harry. **

**You Can Let Go Now **

_Wind blowin' on my face. Sidewalk flyin' beneath my bike. A five year-old's first taste of what freedom's really like. He was runnin' right beside me. His hand holdin' on the seat. I took a deep breath and hollered as I headed for the street._

Lily yawns as she walks downstairs and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Her red hair was braided to keep it from tangling as she slept and the clouds on her pink pajama drifted around. She knew her two brothers would still be in bed. James liked to sleep late and Al had a nightmare again last night so he had gone to sleep with their parents.

"Happy Birthday, Lily!"

Lily looked up to see her parents at the table with her favorite breakfast ready and four packages on the counter ready for her to open, one from each family member. One was a particularly long package and Lily was most eager to open that one.

"Wicked! What did I get?" she said and ran to the counter to open one but her father stopped her.

"Wait till your party, Lily," he said sitting the five year old on his lap. "There'll be more presents and your cousins will want to see them."

"But I want to open them now!" said Lily in a pout.

"But if you open them now, your aunts and uncles and cousins will be disappointed because you didn't wait," said Ginny. "They put a lot of thought into buying your gifts. It would be polite to open all the presents with everyone around."

"All right," said Lily still pouting as she crossed her arms. Harry and Ginny laughed as Ginny kissed her daughter's head and Harry gave her a hug.

Later that day the back yard of Grimmuald Place had been decorated for Lily's birthday. Balloons, streamers and hovering fairy lights, provided by her Uncle George, surrounded the entire yard.

"Mummy! Daddy! It's lovely!" said Lily looking around the yard I her new cotton dress.

"Thank Kreacher, Lily," said Hermione sternly. "He helped."

"Thank you, Kreacher," said Lily smiling at the old house-elf serving drinks.

"Kreacher is happy young miss is pleased with Kreacher's work," he said and served a drink to George and Angelina. Lily giggled at the old house-elf and went to enjoy her party.

What seemed like minutes later to her, which was actually an hour and a half; she was sitting at table with a pile of presents in front of her. She got the usual five year old presents, a new doll that were popular, a new dress, hair pins, children's jewelry, and a practice wand from her mother.

Harry smiled as he placed the long package in front of her.

"From me," he said. Lily smiled in glee as she ripped off the wrapping and shrieked in happy surprise. She wrapped her arms around him in excitement.

"Daddy, thank you! My own training broom!"

"Want to try it out?" asked Harry.

"Of course!" said Lily and looked at her mother. "Can I, Mummy?"

"Sure," said Ginny smiling down at her daughter. "Just be careful."

"Thank you, Mummy!" Lily wrapped her arms around her mother's neck and kissed Ginny on the cheek. She rushed to Harry at the edge of the party. He had set the broom on the ground and smiled as she neared.

"Now, hold up your hand and saw "Up"," he instructed. Lily smiled as she held her hand over the broom like she had seen her father and brothers do many times before.

"Up!" she commanded and the broom flew into her hands. Everyone gasped around her. "Did you see that, Daddy? Did you see?!"

"I saw, Lily," said Harry kissing the top of her head. "You're a natural, like your mother and me." Lily smiled up at him and swung onto the broom. Harry held the broom steady at waist level. "Are you ready, honey? This is the scary part. Uncle Neville got scared at this part."

"I'm ready, Daddy! Let go."

"Are you sure?"

Lily laughed. "Yeah, Daddy! Let go!"

Harry did, a little reluctantly at first, but he did and stepped back to stand next to Ginny and watched as Lily laughed as she flew around the yard.

_  
You can let go now, Daddy. You can let go. Oh, I think I'm ready to do this on my own. It's still a little bit scary, but I want you to know. I'll be ok now, Daddy. You can let go_

_I was standin' at the altar between the two loves of my life. To one I've been a daughter. To one I soon would be a wife. When the preacher asked, 'Who gives this woman?' Daddy's eyes filled up with tears. He kept holdin' tightly to my arm 'till I whispered in his ear._

Lily smiled at herself as she straightened the white dress she wore and touched up her hair with a wave of her wand. She double checked everything, from the pearls finely stitched in the gown to the diamonds around her neck. She didn't want anything out of place, no matter how nervous she was.

"You'll be fine." Lily jumped in surprise and turned to find her father smiling at her. Lily smiled back. Harry walked up and tucked a stray lock of red hair from her eyes. "You look beautiful."

"You're my father. You're supposed to say I look beautiful."

"Well, you are," said Harry smiling. "He's a lucky guy, even if he's…."

"Dad, I thought you put that behind you," said Lily smiling up at her father.

"I'm an old dog," said Harry with a shrug. "Can't teach me new tricks."

"Well, I'll teach you this one," said Lily with a scowl that looked so much like her mother's Harry almost forgot that she was his daughter. Harry grinned at her and kissed her.

"And you do look beautiful."

"Thank you, Daddy," she said with a smile. She placed the veil over her finely done hair and picked up her bouquet of lilies. "Well, let's go."

Harry smiled over at her and held out his arm. Smiling back at her father Lily took his arm and he led her out of the room and out of the house. Everything and everyone outside was quiet when they stepped out of the door and rose to their feet when the march played.

Lily smiled nervously at the man at the other end, and he smiled back just as nervously. Harry led her down the line in a slow march; slow Lily, but too fast for Harry. He as remembering the girl she used to be and wanted nothing more then to stay with her father like all little girls did at one time. His only little girl and he wasn't sure id he was ready to let her go.

Finally they reached the end of the aisle and stood in front of the wizard that would be conducting the ceremony. He cleared his throat and spoke in a loud voice.

"Who gives this woman to this man," he asked.

Harry tightened his grip on Lily's arm. He wasn't ready for this. He wasn't ready to let go. His only little girl and he couldn't let go of her.

Lily smiled over at him and leaned over to whisper in his ear. "It'll be all right, Daddy. I love you."

Harry sighed, loosed his grip and smiled at her. Turning to the wizard he smiled. "I do," he said and handed Lily to her groom. "Take care of her."

Scorpius nodded. "I will, sir," he said. Harry gave him a small smile and went to join Ginny. Lily turned to smile at him before turning to her husband-to-be.

_You can let go now, Daddy. You can let go. Oh, I think I'm ready to do this on my own. It still feels a little bit scary, But I want you to know I'll be ok now, Daddy. You can let go._

_It was killin' me to see the strongest man I ever knew wastin' away to nothin' in that hospital room. 'You know he's only hangin' on for you'. That's what the night nurse said. My voice and heart were breakin' as I crawled up in his bed, and said: _

A shriek up the stairs jerked Lily out of the latest paperwork she was reading. She remember her father telling her that being an Auror was hard work, but she never realized this hard until she join the Magical Law Enforcement. Scorpius had no problem with her being an Auror, he was an Arguer himself and loved his work, as much as she loved hers.

Setting down the report she had been attempting to read she walked up to the play room and crossed her arms as she gave them a motherly glare.

"Harry, what do you think you're doing," she asked her oldest son. Harold Draconis Malfoy, named for both of his grandfathers, held the stuffed dragon that his sister, Narcissa Molly Malfoy, had been playing with.

"But I wanted to play with it," said Harry. With his blonde hair and brown eyes, he resembled his parents more then his grandfathers. Lily sighed.

"Cissy was playing with it first," she said. "Let her finish and you'll get your turn."

"But she's never finished," whined Harry and Lily smiled.

"Just like _you're_ never finished," she said gently taking the dragon from her son she gave it to her red hair grey eyed daughter. Cissy laughed and hugged the dragon doll, making a puff of smoke come out of its mouth. Picking up Cissy she held her hand out to her pouting son. "Come on. I'm sure one of the house-elves has a cookie for you."

Never one to say no to a sweet Harry took is mother's hand and let her lead him to the kitchen. Their head elf, Missy, was busy making dinner for them as they entered.

"Missy, do you have a spare cookie for these two," asked Lily. Missy looked at her in surprise.

"That'll spoil their supper, it will," she said.

"Just something to tide them over till then," said Lily. Missy bowed and went to get the children something, grumbling as she did.

She gave Cissy and Harry two sugar cookies and Lily sent them back up to their playroom as the fireplace flared to life and her mother's face appeared. "Mum?"

"Lily, that curse that hit your father last week, it got worse. Healers are amazed he made it this long."

"Do Jim and Al know?" asked Lily trying to not cry, but she felt a burning behind her eyes.

"I told them," said Ginny. "Al's Porting from Brazil and Jim's on his way from Ireland. But I'm afraid they won't make it in time."

"I'm coming, Mum," said Lily. "Just let me call Scorpius and let the kids know."

Ginny nodded and retreated. It didn't take long for Lily to leave a message with Scorpius' assistant and Floo to St. Mungo's. She met up with Ginny just outside her father's hospital room.

"He's waiting for you," she said smiling up at her daughter. Lily gently took her mother's hand before letting of and walking into her father's room. Harry Potter lay on the bed, looking like a hundred year old hermit instead of the man she knew was nearing his fifties.

"Dad, it's me. Lily. I'm here."

"Lily, is that you?" Harry opened his eyes and Lily tried to not cry. The eyes staring back at her, or tried to stare at her, where glazed over. The spell had rendered Harry blind as well as taking his life.

"Yeah, Dad, it's me," said Lily. It hurt to see the man she looked up to look the way he was.

"I'm sorry, Lily," said Harry. "To leave your mother, your brothers, you, like this….I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, Daddy," said Lily. "We'll be okay. I'll be okay."

And she crawled into the bed, curling up at his side like she had done when she was five, and waited for her brothers to arrive, but she knew that by the time they did, Harry Potter would already be gone.

_You can let go now, Daddy. You can let go. Your little girl is ready to do this on my own. It's gonna be a little bit scary, but I want you to know, I'll be ok now, Daddy. You can let go. You can let go._

**END**  
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